Press releases

Massive iceberg breaks off in Antarctica

18 October 1998,Washington (Reuters)- An iceberg larger than the state of Delaware has broken off the Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica in what scientists believe may be a sign of global warming, the National Ice Center announced Thursday.

The iceberg, named A-38, measures 92 miles long and 30 miles wide and covers an area of about 2,751 square miles. The Ronne Ice Shelf is the second largest in Antarctica, located in the southern Weddell Sea.

The last time an iceberg of this size broke off a Southern Hemisphere Ice Shelf was B-9 in the Ross Sea in Oct. 1987. Mary Keller, a scientist at the National Ice Center, sighted the iceberg using satellite data gathered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Seehttp://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2556606718-d76

China drafts law to save Yellow River

BEIJING (Reuters) -
Chinese conservationists are drafting the nation's first river protection law in a desperate bid to save the once-ferocious Yellow River that is now running dry, state media said Friday.
Dubbed "China's sorrow" for its disastrous floods over the centuries, the nation's second longest waterway is slowly dying, harmed by decades of excessive water use and pollution. For many months of the year, the parched river trickles out before reaching the sea. But the new bill, drafted by the Yellow River Conservancy Commission, hopes to turn the tide of destruction and bring the mighty river back to life. Seehttp://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2556609678-03e